Loose-leaf binder



Aug. 22, 1939. E, ANTHONY 2,170,106

LOOSE-LEAF BINDER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFitf 3 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon in accordance with the provisions of the act of April 30, 1928 (Ch. 460, 45 Stat. L. 467).

My invention pertains to improvements for facilitating the use of memorandum books, loose leaf folders, tablets, etc.

More particularly the invention pertains to means for maintaining a writing instrument available for ready use in connection with tablets, memoranda pads and the like, and pertains further to the adaptation of the foregoing as a bookmark.

By the use of the word tablet in this specification and the appended claims it is intended to mean any number of sheets of paper secured at one edge, whether the fastening means be glue, stitching, gripping or compressing means, or rings, posts or the like adapted to pass through eyelets in the sheets.

Other objects and functions of my improvements will become apparent from the following description and the a accompanying drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown embodiments having the characteristics of my inventions and by which they may be practiced.

Figure 1, in front perspective, discloses a tablet Within an opened binder and alternative forms of my improved pencil holder and bookmark.

Figure 2 is a plan view which illustrates a binder in closed position with a portion of one cover cut away to show my improvements and their adaptations.

Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged front end view of Figure 2, with a corner of the cover bent upwardly.

In the drawing, the character reference I may generally designate a cover, or the like for a tablet II, and reference I2 the means for receiving and removably retaining the tablet within the member Ill. As specifically shown to illustrate the invention, the cover means In may have a front as well as a back member hinged so as to make the tablet II therein readily available. The invention, however, is equally adaptable to other types of tablet covers. The tablet specifically shown to illustrate the invention comprises the loose leaf type provided with eyelets I3 adapted tobe threaded upon suitable retaining means, and herein shown as spring actuated ringlets I4. In lieu of the punched type of tablet and ringlet type of tablet retaining means, the tablet may be of the conventional edge-glued or stitched type having a backer such as cardboard. A binder or folder to receive the lattertype of tablet should be provided with a slot, jacket or pocket in the inner face, in lieu of the ringlets I i, to receive and removably retain. the backer of the tablet, whereby the retained backer may in turn carry the tablet secured thereto. There are many other conventional types of binders and tablets not specifically mentioned nor shown to which my improvements are equally adapted for use.

Having described articles to which my improvements are adapted for use, my improvements comprise a holding member I5 of any suitable material having an opening of such size and shape as to frictionally receive and retain a pencil IE, or other conventional writing instrument, parallel to the edge of the tablet and outside of its border. For this purpose the member If: is provided with means, such as indicated by reference II, to secure the tubular member to an edge of the tablet; or to the edges of one or more sheets I8 thereof. .Or, if desired, the member 55 may be secured by the mounting means I'i to an auxiliary extension member, such as indicated at I9, which extension member is adapted to be removably retained within the folder It in any suitable manner. If desired, the mounting means Il may be of suflicient length-to extend to the tablet retaining means withoutan auxiliary sheet such as I8, or extension member, such as I9.

As specifically shown to illustrate my invention, the pencil retaining member I5, Figure l, is shown in one instance applied to the edge of a sheet it of the tablet. By reference to Figure 3 it will be seen that the means ll for securing the tubular member I5 to the sheet I8 may consist of a pair of parallel flanges or lips extending from the pencil holder I5 and spaced from each other sufficiently to receive the sheet I8 therebetween. The flanges or lips I! may be stitched or otherwise secured to the inserted portion of the sheet. In the other embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 the member I5 may be secured as at Ila to an auxiliary member I9 which is adapted to be retained by the ringlets I4 and extend to the edge of the tablet in order to carry the tubular member to the side of the tablet.

In other words, my invention comprises, among other things, a longitudinally bifurcated beading member, sleeve, or tubular member having a portion of the legs II or I'Ia thereof secured to the edge of a sheet-like member I8 or E9 of sufficient length as to carry the portion I5 of the sleeve beyond the edge of a tablet II when the sheetlike member I8 or I9 is retained by the means I2 55 or I I, for retaining the sheets of the tablet II. The projecting portion of the sleeve I5 may be tubular and of such size as to serve as a magazine to receive and frictionally retain a conventional writing instrument I6, or it may be substantially fiat but capable of expansion to receive the instrument. The sheet-like member IQ for extending the magazine I5 to the edge of the tablet Il may be inserted between any desired pages of the tablet I I or the bead may be applied to any desired page, as. indicated by I8, of the tablet whereby the sheet-like member E9 or page I8 to which the bead is secured may serve as a bookmark. In the use of the looseleaf type of tablet and binder (see references I3 and II), it is of course understood that sheet I8 or auxiliary member I9 carrying the tubular members I5 respectively, may be inserted between any desired pages of the tablet and be transferred from time to time according to desired markings of the tablet.

It is to be understood that the pencil holding sleeves I5 may be positioned along the end of the tablet II as well as along the sides thereof.

As shown in Figure 3 particularly, it will be seen that the member I5 is arranged to carry the pencil it outside of the border of the tablet sheets but within the border of the folder I 8. This arrangement may also be varied as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 to carry the pencil I6 beyond the confines of the folder II].

The pencil holding member I5 may also be utilized as an index tab by providing the same of material susceptible to markings and indexing as desired and of material sufliciently flexible as will afiord a compression of the tubular magazine into a substantially fiat index tab. The extension member I9 may be of greater thickness, as shown in Fig. 1, than the rest of the sheets of the tablet and may also becut away, if desired, to render it more suitable as a bookmark or index tab. The auxiliary member I9 is rendered more suitable, for the purposes stated, by cutting away a portion thereof, as stated and shown, since, by that design, use and visibility of a major portion of the sheet beneath the member I9 is afforded and the flexibility of the tablet is not diminished by. the thickened member I9 except for the minor portion of the tablet over which the cut-back member I9 extends.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I provide an inexpensive and readily adaptable means for carrying a pencil or other writing instrument readily accessible for use with a tablet or for independent use. In addition to providing means for carrying the pencil in association with a tablet or folder it will be seen that I provide a bookmark and/or indexing member having utility aside from a mere bookmark or index tab.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a loose-leaf binder of the type having a cover, a filler of leaves smaller than the cover, and means removably retaining said filler in said cover; the improvement comprising a relatively sturdy division member, as compared with said leaves, also removably retainable by said retaining means, said division member being cut away to expose a major portion oi the associated filler and carrying at an outer edge thereof an open loop sized to frictionally receive and retain a writing instrument, said loop-carrying edge extending beyond the edge of the associated filler yet within the edges of the cover, whereby said division member may serve as a selectively positionable bookmark or divider and at the same time serve as means for removably retaining a writing instrument in longitudinal juxtaposition with and beyond an edge of the filler yet shielded by the edge of the cover.

2. In combination with a loose-leaf binder having means for receiving and removably retaining sheets of paper, a selectively positionable individually removable auxiliary dividing member for said sheets removably retained by said binder, said division member having a cross sectionally U-shaped expandable edge portion for receiving and removably retaining a conventional writing instrument, said division member having considerably less area than said sheets yet having sufiicient length, thickness and stability to maintain said writing instrument-retaining means contiguous to the border of said sheets within said binder.

3. In combination with a. tablet and folder therefor having means for removably retaining the sheets of said tablet, a pencil retaining bookmark for said tablet comprising a selectively positionable triangular auxiliary member of relatively sturdy material held independently removable along one edge by said sheet-retaining means and provided with means positioned along another edge and extending beyond the border of said tablet for receiving a pencil, said receiving means comprising a non-metallic strip-like member bent back upon itself and having a leg portion secured to an outer edge of said auxiliary member.

ELIJAH ANTHONY. 

